Taylor Hotchkiss
Taylor Irene Hotchkiss(obituary) is a main character in the television series Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists on Freeform. The oldest child of the respectable Hotchkiss family, Taylor decided to dedicate her time to help students who were under the high-pressure environment of BHU. She faked her death in a suicide a year prior and has been secretly working against Hotchkiss Technologies ever since. Biography Taylor was born to Claire and Peter Hotchkiss in Beacon Heights, Oregon. She is the older sister of Nolan, and as children, Nolan and Taylor were extremely close. They would never turn on each other when one of them was in trouble. In her younger years, Taylor would sit in the balcony overlooking the Hotchkiss family grounds, and watch her parents' lavish parties below. She was full of life, imaginative, and curious about the world around her. She would often pretend that Beacon Heights was Oz from The Wizard of Oz, and was convinced that the Emerald City was in her backyard or the neighboring woods. She overlayed the preexisting maps in her Oz books with her versions, which created a unique world view that only she understood. Due to Claire and Peter's rise in fame and wealth, Taylor was labeled "America Princess" and featured on the cover of any magazine that could score an interview. At the age of fourteen, Taylor and her father were walking home when they turned into an alley. She heard the sound of gunshots moments later and her father fell to the ground, shot. She tried to save him, however, her attempts were futile and Peter died moments later. After his death, Taylor changed and became maniacally obsessed with creating a system that would prevent anyone else from dying the way her father did. Claire noticed the shift in Taylor and admitted her to River-Well Treatment and Spa center. Claire then took control over Taylor's technology system, Beacon Guard, and locked her daughter out of the system completely. She graduated from Beacon Heights University before going on to become an English teaching assistant there. Around the same time she was teaching, Taylor volunteered at Hotchkiss Industries in the Safe and Secure department. She lived in a house near campus and helped students who were struggling due to the immense pressure of navigating BHU. She was commonly known for her guiding phrase, "you can handle it.". She remained steadfast in this life until someone attempted to murder her. In a flurry of events, Taylor faked her death by allegedly having jumped off the Haskell road bridge. According to the incident reports, the witnesses described having seen "someone or something fall into the water", however, the police failed to discover a body. Her funeral was held at some point. She remained in contact with her younger brother, Nolan, who helped guide her through her isolation while getting her supplies. Nolan and Taylor eventually discovered the truth about Hotchkiss Technologies, and initiated a plot to shut down their family's company. Personality Curious, imaginative, and intellectual from the time she was a young girl, Taylor's mind is both her greatest strength and downfall. As noted by her mother, Taylor was observant and preferred to watch others rather than talk to them. She had a gleaming personality and enjoyed helping others and the world around her. She volunteered much of her time and reminded people that they could handle whatever life threw their way. Taylor is dashingly smart in calculus, technology, and staying under everyone's radar. She is independent, strong, and protective of her younger brother, who was once her anchor to the outside world. At the age of fourteen, Taylor witnessed her father being shot which became the catalyst of her personality. She became obsessed with finding the truth and protecting others so nothing like that would happen again. Her obsession drove her to go days with sleeping, eating, or going outside. She was manic and unpredictable in her behavior, but after receiving therapy, she seemed to become more stable. In times of emotional pressure or stress, Taylor is susceptible to suffering another manic episode. Physical Appearance Taylor is an attractive young woman in her early-to-mid twenties, with blue eyes and shoulder-length, golden blonde hair. Pale skinned due to being inside for so long, she has a slim build and sharp but round facial features. Taylor is noted to usually dress in dark, mostly black outfits. After Nolan's death, her hair is notably shorter coming to her jawline instead of her shoulders. Physically, she is said to be Alison DiLaurentis' doppelgänger, a fact Alison herself notes along with their extreme similarities in personality. Series Pilot Nolan meets her in the woods where she is attempting to hack into Beacon Guard at a cabin. She insists that the two of them can stop the system but Nolan believes they need help. The Ghost Sonata In her search for clues about Taylor's alleged suicide, Alison stumbled upon an incomplete collection of "The Wizard of Oz" saga. She became especially interested in the novels when she saw annotations made on a map at the beginning of "Ozma of Oz". During her meeting with Claire Hotchkiss, Alison offered the saga to Claire, who refused them as they belonged at Taylor's old house. She elaborated that Taylor had an active imagination as a child. She was convinced she would find the Emerald City in their backyard or surrounding woods. After their tea session, Alison figured out what the maps inside the books truly meant, and was lead to a seemingly deserted RV in the middle of the forest. She entered and opened a cabinet to find the missing novel from Taylor's "Wizard of Oz" collection. There was a noise behind Alison and she turned and was shocked to see the patchwork girl herself, Taylor Hotchkiss, now directly behind her. Alison called out to Taylor who fled despite Alison's attempt to stop her. Once outside the RV, Taylor locked Alison inside. She ignored Alison's desperate cries for her to stop and let her explain. Enter the Professor She is mentioned to be at River-Well Retreat after shooting Jeremy Beckett. However, in a bonus scene, Taylor is at the retreat. She is sitting on a chair by the pool in a robe when her phone goes off. A genie lamp pops up and the narrator says if you had one wish, what's the thing you'd most want. Nolan calls Taylor and the two talk, and Taylor asks him if this is real, and he replies with "does it matter?" Appearances (8/10) Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists Season 1 * Pilot * Sex, Lies and Alibis (mentioned) * ...If One of Them is Dead (mentioned) * The Ghost Sonata * The Patchwork Girl * Lost and Found * Dead Week * Hook, Line and Booker * Lie Together, Die Together * Enter the Professor (video footage) Relationships Friends Alison DiLaurentis (see: "Talison") - Alison first learned of Taylor when she arrived in Beacon Heights. Taylor was the dead daughter of Beacon Heights University|BHU]] founder Claire Hotchkiss and the seemingly perfect sister of Nolan. Several people in town commented on Alison's resemblance to Taylor, which Alison initially brushed off. After investigating the circumstances around Taylor's death, she found inconsistencies. She recognized the inconsistencies due to her history with faking her death. Alison eventually found Taylor's RV, which lead her to finally meeting Taylor. After convincing her to return home, Taylor and Alison have formed a friendship. Mona Vanderwaal (see: "Vanderkiss") - Familial Nolan Hotchkiss - Inseparable siblings, Taylor and Nolan were best friends as children. When they were in trouble they would never turn on each other, a trait their mother secretly admired. They often played together with Taylor orchestrating their games since she was the eldest sibling. After she uncovered the truth about Hotchkiss Technologies, Taylor faked her death to further investigate the company. He was presumably in on her scheme since he didn't cry at her funeral and remained a diligent student and friend. As seen in "Pilot", Nolan often brought her groceries and helped her stay connected to the outside world, while she kept him apprised on the status of her work. She would often tell him how much information they had gathered on HT. Their arrangement spanned for a little over one year, which was when Nolan was tragically murdered. Trivia * Initially, Taylor was advertised as "TBA" a mysterious character with a dark past. * Taylor bears a striking resemblance to Alison DiLaurentis, which was pointed out by both Alison and Mona. Taylor and Alison also have very similar backgrounds and personalities. * According to her obituary, Taylor was the captain of the field hockey team, a calculus tutor, student body chairperson and volunteered her time to cleaning up the Oregon beaches. * Taylor is an avid reader, specifically of The Wizard of Oz book series. * She was friendly with Ray Hogadorn before her disappearance, and they had a working friendship. * She is the fifth known character in the Pretty Little Liars universe to fake her death. She follows only Alison DiLaurentis, Toby Cavanaugh, Mona Vanderwaal - who was kidnapped and believed to be dead after planning to fake her death, and Charles DiLaurentis, whose death was symbolic. She is also the only character in Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists to fake her death. * Taylor was with her father the night he was shot and was a witness to the crime. *Similar to Ali and Mona appearing in The Bin of Sin, she and Nolan appeared in a bonus scene for Enter the Professor. Book Comparisons * Taylor Hotchkiss seems to have been inspired by Taylor Martell-Lewis. Martell-Lewis the younger brother of Caitlin who committed suicide before the events of the novel due to Nolan's bullying. ** However, Taylor Hotchkiss faked her suicide, unlike Taylor Martell-Lewis. * The book character was a teenage boy of Korean descent who loved all things nerdy, whereas television-Taylor is a woman in her twenties and a former teacher at BHU. Television-Taylor is also of European descent. * Both Taylor's are siblings of one of the Perfectionists. Martell-Lewis is the younger brother of Caitlin, while Hotchkiss is the older sister of Nolan. * Both versions had active imaginations and enjoyed fantasy-based novels. Quotes Gallery Navigational References Category:Characters Category:TV show character Category:Season 1 (The Perfectionists) Category:TV show character (The Perfectionists) Category:The Perfectionists Characters